Spiritual Fitness, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the New Year
Given the inevitability of adversity in life, should we not prepare for it now?
And if such preparation makes sense, why not fold it into our plans for the year ahead? Below I unpack a bit more about what this might mean, drawing some inspiration and concepts from the U.S. Marine Corps.
But first, allow me to share a brief story.
A Day after Christmas: Kandahar, Afghanistan
Upon the opening of the U.S. Air Force C-17’s exterior door, my nose stung as I inhaled a combination of smoke, dust, and what I’d learn later was probably burning trash and fecal matter. It was Dec. 26, 2012, and the Afghan sun had already set behind the mountains around Kandahar Airfield. I quickly shuffled into a passenger terminal alongside a few dozen other U.S. Navy Sailors who were also starting deployments in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Lieutenant Commander Frank Riley, whom we learned quickly was a Navy chaplain, greeted us warmly, announcing that where we were standing was one of the “last strongholds of the Taliban.”
Riley guided us to a dining facility while striking up a conversation. “Marines say they want to stick by me, saying they’ll be ‘safer next to the man of God,’” he said. “I then ask them who the biggest sinner is in the group, and when they point him out, I tell them to stick by that guy. God already knows where I'm going, but he knows the biggest sinner needs more time to figure it out.”
Although this wasn’t my first experience with Navy chaplains, whom the Navy also provides to the U.S. Marine Corps along with Navy medical personnel, it sticks in my mind because in addition to orienting us physically to a new location in a war zone, Riley provided a much-needed sense of calm and emotional stability. He recognized that our needs in those moments included those needs of our spirits and minds.
The next day, after completing some administrative work, Riley closed the meeting—and his welcoming routine for us, it seemed—by singing a few verses of “Eternal Father, Strong to Save,” which begins:
Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bid'st the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
O hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea.
He then offered a brief prayer for all of us.
Navy chaplains have been around for as long as the Navy itself, and chaplains have a presence in every other branch of the U.S. Armed Forces as well. Some are Catholic priests, some are ordained Protestant ministers, others represent myriad other faith traditions. They perform many duties as religious ministry professionals and as military officers, providing essential support for readiness and well-being.
One way in which they provide such support is through encouraging and helping to foster spiritual fitness—a concept that seems relevant regarding how we can prepare ourselves for adversity. About six months ago, the Marine Corps published its Spiritual Fitness Leader’s Guide, which you can download here. Although the document appropriately focuses on spiritual fitness as it pertains to Marines, it seems to me that spiritual fitness has broad applicability for anyone who will encounter hardship. That’s everyone.
What is spiritual fitness?
The Spiritual Fitness Leader’s Guide (p. 1-1) defines spiritual fitness as “the identification of personal faith, foundational values, and moral living from a variety of sources and traditions that help Marines live out core values of honor, courage, and commitment, live the warrior ethos, and exemplify the character expected of a United States Marine.”
Subtract the Marine language from this definition, and I think you’re still left with a useful concept. Spiritual fitness is a worthy endeavor, one in which you clarify your deepest beliefs and principles. It’s about crystallizing one’s ideas to build a solid foundation for making decisions about how to behave and how to be in the world.
The Guide goes on to suggest, “Spirituality can be used to refer to that which gives meaning and purpose in life and can be practiced through philosophy, religion, or way of living.” While admitting my own strong bias toward Catholicism, I recognize that one can figure out some aspects of meaning and purpose without religion. As a secular institution, the Marine Corps also recognizes this, stating:
Non-religious expressions of spirituality include activities that seek to strengthen commitment to family, love of life, and esprit de corps. Examples include, but are not limited to, volunteerism, practicing gratitude, sharing kindness, serving others, and having deep conversations. Religious expressions include activities that connect one to the Divine, God, and the supernatural. Examples include, but are not limited to, prayer, meditation, worship, spending time in nature, and participation in the sacraments. The spiritual fitness of every Marine and Sailor is enhanced and promoted through activities that support one’s personal faith, foundational values, and moral living.
Why does spiritual fitness matter?
During the past few decades, research on the aftermath of trauma has taken an interesting turn. Although trauma can certainly leave some people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), trauma can also result in positive growth and change for others. This latter phenomenon is known as post-traumatic growth (PTG).
One of the key differences between those who suffer PTSD and those who experience PTG has to do with how they make sense of what happened and how they move forward productively. As it pertains to the topic of spiritual fitness, it turns out that spirituality is a component of PTG. Spiritual beliefs can be part of a powerful sensemaking system, allowing people to cope effectively with adversity. Many trauma survivors cite spiritual or religious beliefs as important parts of their recovery, and coping that integrates a spiritual component appears to be a predictor of PTG.
Returning to the question I posed at the beginning of this essay, given the inevitability of adversity in life, should we not prepare for it now? It seems that we should, and one way in which we can do so is by working toward improving our spiritual fitness.
A New Year’s Resolution
In an October 2023 Forbes Health/OnePoll survey of 1,000 U.S. adults that explored attitudes about resolutions and goals, 48 percent reported improving fitness as a top priority. Thirty-six percent cited improved mental health as a top resolution, and 55 percent responded that physical and mental health were of equal importance. It seems from these data points that a good number of people care about fitness and mental health, but it’s unlikely that many of us think about it in terms of spiritual fitness.
But if we were to do so, what might that look like?
Going back to the guidance provided by the Marine Corps, it could start with a self-assessment of sorts. This has four steps:
Know your influences. Explore who you are in terms of your personal characteristics, history, beliefs, and goals. Explore further why you think the way you think: your purpose, friends, culture, faith, religion, mentors, philosophy, and more.
Exercise three elements: personal faith, foundational values, and moral living. The Guide suggests asking, “In whom or what am I placing my faith or trust in?”, “What are the values I currently live by?”, “What do I value most?”, and “What are the moral standards I use to guide my decision making?”
Evaluate the following seven indicators for yourself: (1) life’s meaning/purpose, (2) hope for life/future, (3) sound moral decision-making, (4) engagement with family and friends, (5) ability to forgive self and others, (6) level of respect toward others, and (7) engagement with core values and beliefs.
Determine your fitness level. Depending on how you respond to the seven indicators above, you’re either doing well or not so well regarding spiritual fitness. A high level of spiritual fitness includes, for example, a strong sense of meaning and purpose, hope about the future, moral decision-making, healthy engagement with others and with one’s core values, and a high level of respect for other people.
My guess is that the vast majority of those of you reading this are not currently in the Marine Corps or another part of the military or you are but don’t have a chaplain or other leader who is positively facilitating your spiritual fitness. In that case, my humble suggestion to you (and to myself, for that matter) is to consider the following this year:
Think through the items listed above from the Marine Corps’ spiritual fitness self-assessment.
Get a reading plan and stick to it—a little bit each day. A few recommendations (a few secular, a few Christian) that come to mind include Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl, virtually anything by C.S. Lewis, some basic philosophy (this 4-volume introductory set by Peter Kreeft could be a good start), and, of course, the Bible (try the Bible in a Year podcast).
Commit or recommit to habits of healthy spiritual hygiene by carefully considering the types of media (social and otherwise) you consume.
Find other people who are interested in these types of questions. I’ve found tremendous value in talking with smart people, especially with other people you trust—those who have your best interest in mind.
Along the way, consider that the nature of adversity is such that it is not a matter of if it will happen; it is a matter of when. Being spiritually fit is a way to prepare yourself for those times.
We are often unable to predict the precise form that hardship will take, but we can predict with complete certainty that it will arrive in some way at some time. Facing reality need not be a frightening chore nor a paralyzing stressor. It can be a skill or strength that we build over time, with both ancient wisdom and social science.
Is it not, after all, wise to prepare for that which we know we will face?
References and for further reading
Askay, Shelley Wiechman, and Gina Magyar-Russell. "Post-traumatic growth and spirituality in burn recovery." International Review of Psychiatry 21, no. 6 (2009): 570-579. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/09540260903344107
Tedeschi, Richard G., and Lawrence G. Calhoun. "Posttraumatic growth: Conceptual foundations and empirical evidence." Psychological Inquiry (2004): 1-18. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20447194
The Bible in a Year: podcast
U.S. Marine Corps. 2023. Spiritual Leader’s Fitness Guide. https://www.marines.mil/Portals/1/Publications/MCRP%206-10.1%20(SECURED).pdf